


a wolf’s howl whispers hymns of the old gods

by derseroyalty



Category: Banana Bus Squad
Genre: I'll update as I go w/e
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-23 15:11:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16161452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/derseroyalty/pseuds/derseroyalty
Summary: The worst part is, you think, is that sometimes you can’t figure out if you’re terrified of the creatures in the dark or they’re terrified of you.(October 2018 Horror-a-Day from @aqueenofokay <3)[will try to finish next October! too many things going on, thank you for your patience.]





	1. vampires

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aqueenofokay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aqueenofokay/gifts).



> happy halloween month <3

“Y’know,” Evan says, while staring at the polished glass of the mirror, “I think I could get used to this.”

In his apartment, it’s moderately dark with the curtains drawn. There’s a box of pizza that’s starting to stink up the kitchen. Son of a bitch, he still can’t eat it; the garlic burns his throat, and he definitely found that out the hard way.

Listen. It’s not his fault that the girl cornered him in the club a few days ago, and it’s definitely not his fault that she had fangs. He let himself get drawn into her lovely gaze and she had leaned in and suddenly—

A low, piercing wail starts up again. Evan sighs, turning from the empty mirror to spot his current victim tied up in his bed. “Dude, look, this would go so much better if you just SHUT UP.”

The worst part was the gag. It didn’t even cover the guy’s eyes, which were a bright hazel that were pleading with him. His glasses were askew and a lens was shattered. 

Evan sighs, checks the restraints, and rips off the gag. “What.”

“Please don’t do this,” the guy begs, tears welling in his eyes. “I don’t even know you! I haven’t done anything wrong!”

Evan shrugs. “That’s fair. You haven’t, but I’m really hungry, and I can’t exactly eat pizza as of right now. I think that's the worst about this whole thing."

The guy's face pales as he realizes that the pointy fangs that stick out aren't exactly fake. "You're..."

"A vampire?" Evan supplies. "Yeah. Got attacked on the dance floor, isn't that crazy? Figured it'd be in a dark alley or something, but nah."

"Garlic-free pizza?" The guy says weakly. "And, and, I work out a lot, so my blood probably doesn't taste good, so you really don't want to drink my blood. I've got a girlfriend to go home to!"

"And I have a lunch meeting tomorrow with a friend," Evan says bluntly. "It's not a personal thing. You just so happened to walk by me and I was kinda like _hey, this guy could be a nice dinner,_ and here you are." 

The newly-turned vampire stretches out and yawns, fangs glinting in the moonlight. This wasn't his first victim, but it was still new enough that he was getting the hang of it. 

The first one was fun. It was his dear sweet vampire mentor, the girl who had turned him. She had held him up while drinking his blood, eyes fluttering shut. 

A simple sway in the middle of a dance club and then Evan...woke up.

Hm.

He wouldn't know, but his canines had elongated and his pupils had bled from brown to red. He wouldn't know, but his sense of smell had sharpened and he would be able to see in the dark. 

He would know these in the future, but at the time, his fury was a bit much and he had sunk his fangs back into her neck. Between processing what the actual fuck had happened to him, Evan grasped her neck and promptly crushed it between his fingers.

It was so simple. To feel the bones crack and shatter in his hands, to feel her gasp before the quiet squeak of surprise and then silence. How he'd let her body slump to the floor and get trampled by dancing people, cheering with glowsticks and swaying to the beat of the music.

Even the thought has Evan sighing in joy. It was a beautiful moment, really, and he wishes he could redo it again. 

Oh! Of course he could! 

The man stares in fear as he watches the vampire shake with something akin to excitement. His fangs have gotten longer and the crimson of his eyes burn. 

_I'm gonna die here,_ the man thinks faintly. _I'm really, really going to die here._

"You are!" The vampire says cheerfully. "And it's going to be great!"

Telepathy. Son of a bitch. 

Evan stalks forward with a smile and starts to hum thoughtfully, tilted head still showing off his beautiful features. "May I ask your name?"

"What for?" The man asks fearfully. "There's no point, is there?"

"Just tell me," the vampire prompts, and the man sweats at the purr in his voice. It's sweet and lovely and—

"Craig," he blurts out, and Evan's smile widens. "Craig! Lovely name for someone who's about to die."

"T—Then what did you need my name for??" Craig stammers, eyes wide as Evan leans into his neck. 

Evan huffs and feels Craig stiffen beneath him. "So the last thing you hear before the breath leaves your body is your own name, and knowing that you have lost your final shred of humanity." 

Craig screams at the top of his lungs and all Evan can say is, "Sorry, Craig," before he sinks in and _drinks._

A few more minutes, and the sound of bones cracking echo through the room.

* * *

Evan steps out of his apartment with bloodied lips and a cheer in his step.

He's a little drunk off the rich blood that's pooling in his stomach. No matter; the moon is full and he's in love with this new side of him.

Evan spreads his wings; they're beautiful and brown, and they quite obviously resemble the wings of a bat. 

(For a brief moment, Evan thinks they should've been owl wings, but the thought immediately goes away.)

It doesn't matter though. The nighttime will always be Evan's, and no one is going to stop his reign of terror over the humans. 

It's going to be so much fun.


	2. candy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im so excited to do this!!! I'm not very good at updating anymore, so a chapter a day should help me get back on track. (as best I can nowadays!)
> 
> I hope everyone enjoys! It's been a while since I've done horror/gore and I feel as though I need to stretch those theoretical muscles ;)

The thing is, Lui knows he shouldn’t stray far from his home. His babysitter specifically told him not to wander off but he SWEARS he saw a gummy worm in the bushes and, of course, as a child, he must pursue. 

Besides, his babysitter got distracted by his crush that lived about a block away. _“Don’t go anywhere Lui!”_ Ryan had warned him. _“I just need to ask Luke a question about one of our homework assignments!”_

The gummy worm is a bit more important though. 

Lui fixes his monkey costume, adjusts the pumpkin that’s holding candy on his arm, and trots off down the sidewalk. A bunch of kids are there in various costumes; he can spot various character designs, and tries not to laugh as he watches Darth Vader and Gandalf battle it out in the middle of the street for a king-sized Kit-Kat. 

Halloween is his favorite time of the year! There’s so much candy and people in the seasonal spirit and honestly, this beats out Christmas for him. Who cares about Santa Claus, right? 

Horror movies and video games were even better. The joy of fear, of scaring people, of—

“Hey, kid!”

Lui looks around, tail trailing on the ground as he spots someone waving at him. He’s got a green shirt on with pancakes; a headset dangles around his neck, and his mask is kinda terrifying; wide, empty eyes and a huge open mouth that stretches like the Joker’s. 

“Me?” Lui asks cautiously. He might’ve run off, but he still knew not to talk to strangers! 

“Yeah!” The guy seems a bit excited. “I bought way too much candy, and I’m honestly not a big fan of some of them. Could you help me with eating some? I don’t want all of it to go to waste.” 

Lui hesitates, and it must show because the guy smiles even wider at him. “It’s okay! My name is Daithi, what’s yours?”

“Da-he?” Lui does his best to pronounce his name, and Daithi laughs out loud. “Okay, maybe that was a bit too difficult. You can call me Nogla!”

Nogla. He can do that. “Hi, Nogla. My name is Lui.” Lui squeaks. “Why’d you buy too much candy?”

Nogla beckons him over and Lui trots forth, making sure his own pumpkin full of candy doesn’t fall onto the ground. It would be a terrible waste! 

The two head down the street, chatting about simple things. Lui learns that Nogla is 18, which means he’s only 8 years older than him. He also learns that his parents don’t come around often since they’re super busy. 

“I love Halloween,” Nogla says as they make their way to an intersection. “Decorating, candy, the scares, everything about it!” The teen makes a sharp left and Lui blinks as he spots the _DEAD END_ sign. 

“Who even lives down here?” Lui wonders out loud. “I don’t think anyone from my elementary school is in the area.” 

Nogla gives a half-hearted shrug. “No idea, I just stay in my own home and deal with myself. Makes it easier that way.” 

Lui shuts his mouth and starts to notice that a lot of kids don't make their way down here. A chill crawls up his spine. 

_Dangerous!_ The wind whispers into his ear. _Go home, little one!_

"What's wrong?" Nogla prompts when he notices the 5th grader stopping. "You alright, Lui?"

"Something feels off," he says faintly. "I—I think I should go home, is that okay? I can come see you with my babysitter, I should be getting back to him, he's probably worried about me—"

Nogla tilts his head, the terrifying mask still on his face, and turns towards the street they just walked from. Lui peers closer at the mask and feels all the blood drain from his face as he realizes that it's not a mask.

It's. It's his actual face. Nothing stitched together, nothing burned or melded onto his skin. That's his actual expression. 

A lump forms in Lui's throat. 

"Yeah, he's worried," Nogla says at last, "but he won't find you till the morning. He might recognize you, but we'll see how you fare after the night's over." 

"Nogla?" Lui whispers. 

The older teen gives him a wicked grin and suddenly lanky fingers wrap around Lui's wrist. The child squeaks and tugs as best he can, wailing at the top of his lungs. "HELP!"

"None of that now," Nogla tsks. "Here's some candy." 

There's the sound of a wrapper and then Lui coughs and hacks as a piece of candy gets shoved into his mouth. There's a gooey center, and then something cracks while he's still dealing with the softness and _oh my god oh my god that's not candy and of course he knows that because he's chewed on his fingernails before and that's not a piece of candy—_

"Was it good?" Nogla asks hopefully. "Still working on the taste, honestly. I'll take you to my workshop!"

Nogla drags the horrified Lui down the street, whistling the theme to Goosebumps as he makes his way to a darkened home. There's gravestones in the front yard and cobwebs dangle from the trees. A fog machine and severed limbs make their home in the yard and—OH.

Well. Hm. Lui swallows and barely registers the finger going down his throat out of pure fear. 

"Welcome to my home!" Nogla says cheerfully, opening the front door. "I think you'll be my last assistant for the night, I really appreciate it!"

Lui doesn't even hear his words. He's too busy staring at the bloodied kid strapped down on the table in the living room, sobbing behind his gag and restraints.

He's missing a finger on his right hand. 

When he spots Nogla, the kid starts crying even harder. With a jolt, Lui realizes he RECOGNIZES him. 

"Oh, no," Lui whispers. "Brock?"

The middle-schooler had always been quiet, but Lui knew him through several people. His friend Jonathan was Luke's younger brother, and Jonathan knew Evan who was in middle school, and Brock was Evan's friend.

When Brock spots Lui, he screams even louder. Nogla gestures for Lui to go take off the gag. "You got this!"

He wastes no time and rushes over to the table, hands shaking as he rips out the cloth. "Brock?"

"Lui," Brock sobs. "You need to get out of here. Evan and Jon are going to miss us and you need to be alive by the end of this."

In the background, Nogla pouts. "But he needs to be a candy taster!"

Brock's eyes are wild and full of fear. "Lui, PLEASE. You gotta run as fast as you can when you get the chance. He took Simone from my class and she stopped screaming when he came back out and he was all bloody."

"He made me eat your finger," Lui nearly passes out as he speaks. "I might throw up."

The two get cut off as Nogla yawns, cracking his mouth even further. Lui sways on his feet and Brock's eyes roll back into his head. "This is the beginning of the end," Brock moans. "I'm sorry you got caught up in this too."

Lui's trembling hand reaches over and grasp Brock's right one, trying to ignore the missing finger. "At least I'll die with a friend." 

Nogla just grins, and the sound of a chainsaw starts up. The chief's knife in his back pocket feels incredibly light. 

* * *

In the morning, when Ryan's throat is hoarse and ragged and his voice is disappearing like breath on glass, he spots a kid standing at the end of the block, relaxing under a stop sign. The monkey tail gives him away.

"Lui," Ryan sobs with relief, and Luke follows close behind. They both have bags under their eyes and Ryan is running on nothing but adrenaline and fear but he still beats Luke to the stop sign. "Lui, oh my god, there you are—"

Ryan starts screaming. He just screams and howls and wails, finally passing out in Luke's arms. It's the senior who has to call the cops and does his best not to throw up at the sight before him. 

Lui's standing there, alright. But he's been tied against the stop sign and there's an eerie smile that stretches all the way to his eyebrows, showing off every single tooth and muscle and bone underneath. The gashes look jagged, as if someone had taken a knife and just ripped upwards. 

He's missing every single phalange and his eyes. 

In the bowl next to him, ten fingers and ten toes with two eyeballs sitting on top glisten with blood. _Have some free candy!_ The sign says with a flourish. 

In about an hour, they'll find Brock's body dismembered after it's been sent to a local candy store. The blood soaking through the package was a dead giveaway. 

The cops will search high and low, and eventually someone will come across the house at the end of the dead end. There won't be any point; Daithi will be long gone, proud of his newest batch of candy. 

No one has the heart to tell him that he probably should've started with animals first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my original plan for this chapter was to have suffocation by candy but uh. I wanted something cooler. 
> 
> I just really like to write deaths. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	3. zombies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I made it too obvious but w/e

Scotty first had a clue that something was up when he walked into the shelter and everyone was staring at him. 

“What?” He protested, glaring at the group of people. “What do you want?”

“You brought a group to here?” One of them asks, eyes wide. “Are…are they your friends?”

Scotty turns around and Marcel just shrugs, wisely not saying a word. Tyler sighs and opens his mouth to say something before getting shushed. Smitty’s still crying in Marcel’s shoulder. 

“We just need a place to stay,” Scotty explains. “I promise my friends and I won’t be any trouble.”

Marcel gives the group a thumbs up with a wide smile. He’s the only emotionally stable one of the group along with Scotty; Tyler’s constantly pissed and Smitty’s devastated as of right now.

One of the refugees jerks his head at Smitty. “What’s his problem?” 

Smitty clutches Marcel’s backpack and sobs even harder, shaking furiously, and Marcel glares at the man. “Tell him to fuck off,” Marcel hisses, and Scotty backs his friends up.

“He just lost his boyfriend!” Scotty snaps. “Show some respect, damn it!” 

The group at least has the decency to look ashamed, and a few people mumble an apology. 

So far during the zombie apocalypse, Scotty’s lost nearly everything but his family, and that includes the three friends that mean the world to him.

* * *

Tyler finally speaks up when the group shows the four of them to a room.

“They’re assholes,” he says bluntly, and Smitty stops crying momentarily. “Why the fuck are we staying with them?”

Scotty sighs. “Because we need to stay inside, dude. I know this sucks, I do. But this is for our health.”

Smitty manages a sniff into his tattered shirt. “Scott? Can we leave to somewhere better? I have a really bad feeling about them.” 

He tenses up at that. Smitty’s predictions were usually correct, and it was what saved their lives at the former shelter they had stayed at. 

They had managed to stay for about a month, and Smitty, ever stealthy, had figured out that the people staying there had planned to kill them so they wouldn’t use up so many resources. 

And there they went; running into the night, a train keeping them together, fleeing for their lives. 

Scott idly scratches his arm, squinting as something flares up in pain. “What the—“

Marcel gasps and Smitty wails, burying his head into his hands as Tyler walks on over to inspect the zombie bite. “It looks fresh,” he notes. “But…we didn’t run into any zombies on the way over, did we?”

“There was a small group,” Marcel mutters out loud, not realizing that Scotty is dead silent. “We outran them though!”

Tyler grasps Scott’s arm and Smitty presses his head against the door, listening closely as he hears sounds outside. The young boy narrows his eyes and does his best to ignore Scotty's panic behind him.

_"What are we going to do—"_

_"They have to go!"_

_"We need to kick them out—"_

_"Kill them—"_

_"Especially their leader, the gray shirt—"_

_"How long have they been on the run—"_

Smitty clenches his jaw and stands back up, looking around for an escape. The room they're in is pretty small; no windows, just one door, and two beds. A single water bottle sits on the extremely small table. 

He's gotta judge his options now. If John were here, he'd be faster at this, but the love of his life was killed when they escaped from the other shelter. It was Scotty who had gotten him to his feet and dragged him off, screaming apologizes and promising to protect him. 

If Scott could vow with his life to protect them all...then he should return the favor. 

"Tyler," he says quietly, and the tall man makes his way over to the kid. "We have to do something."

"Normally I'd agree," Tyler replies, "but we need to make sure that Scotty will be fine."

"He will!" Smitty insists. "You and I both know why he'll be fine. We have to protect him. He's gone all this way from saving us and I want to help him."

Tyler heavily sighs and glances back at Marcel, who's doing his best to bandage the wound. He's whispering and trying to console their dearest friend and of course, his choice has already been made. 

The two stand and face the door. Marcel spots what they're doing and turns so Scotty won't see the bloodshed. 

"You bit him, didn't you." Tyler asks quietly. It's not a question and Smitty shuts his eyes momentarily. "I'm assuming out of grief?"

"It was an accident," Smitty says hoarsely. "I didn't mean to do it. I was just angry and the adrenaline was kicking in—"

"Hey, it's not that big of a deal." Tyler shrugs. The movement jostles a rib and he leans down to fix it back into place. "He's just...coming home, if that makes sense. It was bound to happen sooner or later."

Smitty nods and another clump of hair falls out. "Damn it. Figured I'd be at least thirty before I start balding."

"We're already dead, idiot." Tyler rolls his eyes and nearly has one pop out of its socket. The flesh on his body is mostly gone at this point; he was the first one that Scotty found while roaming the wasteland, picking his way across to find help. "The least we can do is leave him some food when he wakes up."

"He stopped breathing," Marcel calls from the other side of the room. "Buffet time?"

Tyler grins unnaturally and gestures to the door. "After you, my friend."

The door gets thrown open, the humans scream as three zombies rush them, and they all get ripped into bloody pieces. 

Scotty Charles was not expecting to find anyone still alive as he tried to leave his destroyed neighborhood. The fear of infection spreading caused his city to be bombed, and he roamed around before finding Tyler nearly ripped apart. He had chased the mindless zombies away and Tyler had turned in his arms, shaking and stuttering before somehow coming back. 

He couldn't talk, no, but Scott could still understand what he was saying. Not long after, they found Marcel after an explosion had rocked the sky. The two hurried over to spot him get slashed at by a nearby zombie and Marcel had screamed before he died. 

He woke up in Scotty's arms and vowed to be by his side, always. 

Smitty and John held each other as the zombies cornered them. They both had been killed while holding hands, and Scotty came to the rescue. 

The group had traveled around for a while and humans were terrified of the man with zombies for friends. The whispers had spread and after Smitty overheard the humans threatening to kill them, they had escaped and John was gunned down right before they reached the door. 

Scotty had done the absolute world for them, and now it was time for them to take care of him.

* * *

Tyler stretches and winces as a bone pops out of place again. "Shit, you'd think I'd remember by now, but I really don't." 

Smitty hums thoughtfully as he licks blood off his boney finger. "Marcel, is Scotty awake?"

"Give him a moment!" The other man calls back. He cracks a bone in his mouth and helps Scott sit up, coaxing him to drink the marrow. "You alright?"

"Tired," Scotty rasps. "Is that what dying's like?"

"Yeah, it's all dark and scary before waking up!" Smitty says happily. "Welcome to the cool kid's club!"

Scotty snorts before getting up, groaning and yawning at the same time. "Holy SHIT I'm hungry. Is there any flesh left?"

"Fuck yeah dude, here you go." Tyler tosses him a leg and gets up. "You might have to eat it on the go though, there's another group coming here and I really want to ambush them."

"Hell yeah!" Scotty catches the leg and grins. "Let's go get some dinner."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> currently in the bone unit of my anthropology class and it's october and it takes everything in me to not make stupid dumbass bone jokes


	4. high school

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MedicalAssisstanceSpareChange I would die for you <3

Smitty's last day of high school isn't very eventful; or at least in his opinion, but it could change.

Four years of hell was about to be over and how he had managed to survive it, he had no clue. It was through a blur of coffee and staying up late and talking to his friends, and he wouldn't give that up for anything. 

His crush is a junior named John. He's got dyed white hair, rings that curl around his fingers, and nails constantly painted. He's beautiful, he really is. Every day when he passes by, Smitty always watches him go and sighs contently. 

"Smitt," his friend Brian tells him exasperatedly while they're standing at the lockers. "You can't just keep obsessing over a guy and not tell him. You're leaving this place forever by the end of the day!"

"I can't exactly say 'I like you'," Smitty mournfully replies. "He'll never like me anyways."

"You've never talked to him! How do you know?" Brian throws his hands in the air and accidentally sends a few papers flying in the hallway. "It took me FOREVER to ask out Brock, and it took him even longer to say yes!" 

"That's different," Smitty protests as the two walk to class. "Brock was already your friend before you moved and came back. He already knew you! He just transferred to the school earlier this year, remember?"

Brian squints and sighs as they head into whatever class they've got for the day. "Brock's taking a day off to go visit his parents, since they're still upset about his death." 

"Oh, right." Smitty vaguely remembers Brian mentioning something about that. It's pretty faint in his head, but he's been really busy the past few days. 

"But seriously, you need to talk to John if you want him to be with you." Brian insists. "You've got one day to do it, okay?"

"Fine." Smitty grumbles. "And if you're wrong..."

"I'm not!" Brian puts his hands up, eyes wide. "If I am, then you can cram me into a locker."

"And if I'm wrong, then I'll drink some of your poison." Smitty wrinkles his nose at the vial that Brian carries everywhere. It drips from his lips constantly and bubbles a faint purple, and Brian claims it tastes like grapes. 

"Deal!" The two lean forward and shake hands. 

It goes like this: Smitty is 14 when he enters high school. He dealt with everything, became friends with Brian Hanby and Anthony Brown, and he is 16 years old when he is killed. 

Shoved into a locker by an asshole who taunted and teased him for his dyed hair, for the stupid 3D glasses he always wore, and he was placed in there on a Friday afternoon. A fire alarm had gone off and everyone had left the building; deemed late enough by staff, they sent all the students home.

Smitty never made it out. 

Stuffed in, with no food or water or fresh air, he suffocated and stunk up the locker for about a week until a janitor decided to investigate. His body was found and they never caught the punk who did it. 

That was why Smitty had originally stuck around. It was covered up by the school, and they were almost in the clear until someone else had snapped and snuck poison into Brian's drink for being 'too annoying'. The senior had taken a large gulp of coffee and spent about two minutes in agony before dying at the lunch table. 

That one had been a lot harder to cover up. 

Brock was a junior who knew Brian, and he was heartbroken over his death. He had grieved for a very long time and Brian found a way to communicate with him. Over the next couple of months, with encouraged support from Brian, Brock finally decided to jump off a bridge. 

A very unorthodox method, but it worked nonetheless. The world came to a conclusion that he was in love with Brian and decided to be with him.

That was a pretty close theory, actually! Smitty was just glad that they were both finally happy in the end. 

Maybe it was his turn now…?

He follows John into whatever class period it is and hovers above him, staring at the junior below him.

John frowns and scratches the back of his head, tensed up as he feels cold air wash against his neck. 

This had been happening recently. He wasn’t sure why, but it always sent a chill down his spine. 

There’s a burst of cold air by his ear and John winces. It seems insistent, and John freezes when he spots his pencil moving oh-so-slowly. 

_Hi!_ The words on his paper read. _I’m Smitty. I wanted to properly introduce myself to you._

With shaking hands, John writes back. _What do you want?_

There’s a pause, and more gusts of cool air. _Um, well, I really want you to be my friend. Or maybe go on a date with me? Whichever one you prefer though, I don’t mind._

John rips out a piece of paper for the ghost and suddenly realizes what his train of thought had stopped at.

He’s talking to a ghost. An actual ghost. 

…He’s finally lost it. 

_Hey, I know that look._ The ghost writes down. _You look like Brock when he realized that Brian was talking to him._

Something cold seizes John’s heart. _…Brian Hanby?_

_Duh._

Holy shit. If…if this ghost was talking about the actual Brian Hanby who had died in the goddamn cafeteria, then maybe this dude was legit. 

The school did their best to hide it, but there were kids who sweared that it had happened. 

_Talk to Anthony Brown._ The paper tells him. _Tell him that Smitty sent ya!_

John swallows and barely notices the bell ringing.

* * *

“ARE YOU ACTUALLY GOING TO DO IT?!” Brian screeches as he floats after Smitty. The two are following John as the junior weaves through the hallways, a purposeful look in his walk. 

“I’m gonna try!” Smitty says happily. “He listened to me!” 

Their dear friend was permanently stationed in the counselor’s office. Something in him had cracked and had graduated only a few years ago. He was too scared to leave the school. 

John cautiously knocks on the door. “Hello?”

“Be with you in a moment!” Anthony says cheerfully. He puts down his lunch and beckons him in. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, this is going to sound crazy…” John says, fidgeting with one of his rings. “But I think I just had a ghost talk to me.” 

At that, Anthony’s expression entirely drops and a certain fear just travels over his face. John has never seen someone look so terrified. 

“Well…” Anthony swallows. “What. What did the ghost say?”

John winces. “Smitty sent me…?”

Anthony stands so fast that even Smitty and Brian reel back in surprise. “Close the door and make sure to lock it. NOW.”

The two ghosts watch as John does what he’s told and Anthony does his best to calm down. “Do you know who Smitty is?” He says in a low tone. “He was best friends with me and Brian Hanby.”

“The poisoned kid,” John whispers, and Brian puffs out his chest in pride. “They were friends?”

Anthony sighs wearily. "They were. And they both got killed for something absolutely ridiculous." 

The junior looks genuinely scared now. "But...Smitty was talking to me. He said something about Brian and Brock and I don't know who Brock is?"

There's a puff of air above Anthony and the counselor tenses up. "They're all in the room right now." 

Brian jerks up to see Brock floating in, looking a bit downcast. "Hello love! How were the in-laws?"

"Sad," he murmurs. "Planning my funeral."

Smitty winces. He thinks of his own funeral, and how Brian had cried at his coffin. It rained that day and the grass was muddy. 

"We might have a friend joining us," Brian coaxes his dear, gesturing to John. "Will anyone miss him?"

Brock scrunches his nose. "Kyroz? I don't think so. Kinda a loner, never really had any friends. Did our Smitty take a liking to him?"

"Yeah!" Smitty says happily, swirling over John. "I need to get him to do something drastic, I only have till the end of the day. Any ideas?"

Brock shrugs and barely acknowledges Brian hanging off his arm. "Not sure. OH! This almost happened to me, but I caught myself last second. Can easily be seen as an accident. You up for it?"

Smitty leans in, and his eyes go from narrowed to wide in the matter of a minute.

* * *

John leaves Anthony's office feeling extremely worried. Smitty was haunting him? What for? For a DATE? Why him? There were many questions that couldn't be answered. 

He runs his hands through his hair and winces as two rings snag on a few strands. "Shit." 

His math class was downstairs so John stands at the top of the stairs, doing his best to untangle his rings. A cold breeze rises up behind him and John suddenly realizes that Anthony's last words were a warning.

 _"Don't leave your guard exposed,"_ Anthony had whispered. _"Be safe, please."_

Cold hands press against his back, and John can only manage a _"NO!"_ before he gets shoved. 

His ankle hits part of the stairs, his arm dislocates, and his neck snaps against the floor as John goes tumbling down. 

At the top of the stairs, Smitty cheers excitedly with his fist in the air. "Score! He's dead!"

A crowd of students are screaming at the pool of blood surrounding John, and a pale figure stands up from the body. "Wha...What happened?"

"You died!" Smitty floats on over to John and tugs his spirit up, grinning. "You're stuck here for all eternity!"

John's corporeal form goes even paler. "If I'm a ghost, then shouldn't I be able to roam? AM I STUCK HERE?!"

"At the high school, yep!" Brian and Brock float on over. "But Smitty wanted a friend, so now you're here. Sorry if you had any plans to actually live out your life or whatever."

John screams, and all the glass from the ceiling shatters, sending shards flying into the crowd and causing a fire alarm to go off. The sprinklers flood the hallways and there's general chaos in the high school.

Smitty just smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was actually a bit difficult?? I could NOT think of anything rip


	5. ouija boards

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT
> 
> my uni had a false evacuation alarm, which caused the entire student body to panic, and then we had a shooter threat a few hours later.
> 
> and then it flooded while my friends and I were at walmart so we got stuck there while buying groceries whoops

It starts off with Kelly dragging something behind her into Suni's house, a wide grin on her face. 

It's a cold November evening and her crew is already sitting inside, curled up in blankets and hoodies with the fireplace going. Chrissy's taking a warm sip of hot chocolate while Lanai's curled up next to Melina, eyes fluttering shut. Simone's chatting excitedly with Suni over various video games while they're on the couch.

Even in their tranquil moment, none of them are surprised when Kelly practically kicks open the door with the ouija board in her hands. "LOOK WHAT I FUCKING GOT!!" She yells loudly, shaking it up and down. "They were on sale next to the Halloween Spirit store that died out a few years ago!"

The girls exchange looks that vary from 'should we have stopped her this time?' to 'it's Kelly, there's nothing we could've done' and it's Simone who turns towards her.

"Kelly, love," she says politely. "Do you even know how to use a Ouija board?"

"Uh, duh." She grins with a wicked look in her eyes. "I looked up the rules before I ran here."

It's a truly terrifying thought, and they all know that they'll eventually be dragged into it, so they might as well get it over with now. Chrissy sighs and Melina grumbles about spirits before they all get up and sit down at the table. 

Kelly slams the Ouija board down on the table and excitedly opens it up, getting the board and the planchette out. "Okay. Everyone's gotta put their hands on it, and then I'll call the spirits." 

Suni looks vaguely worried. "Are you really going to call spirits in my house? What if something goes wrong?"

"Nothing's gonna go wrong!" Kelly insists. There's something very off about her movements; they seem jerky and uncoordinated, and she's very persistent on the board. "Get over here, I wanna do this."

The girls look at each other again and it's Lanai who makes her way over, hesitant but curious. "I've never actually used a Ouija board," she admits. "I just know there's a bunch of rules that could fuck us up."

Kelly hurries everyone else to the table and makes them put their hands down. "Suni, go turn the lights off." She orders. "Make sure it's dark in here."

Melina blinks in surprise as Kelly whips out two candles, setting them down and lighting them as the room plummets into darkness. 

The five girls sit around Kelly. She's already deemed herself the leader, which everyone else is a bit worried about. "Spirits, heed my call." She announces loudly to the empty air. "Talk to our willing souls!"

"I'm pretty sure that's not how you start it," Simone begins, but gets cut off as the candles get blown out and then burn again. A ghostly chill falls over the room and holy hell it is a terrifying feeling. 

Even Chrissy, the more level-headed one of their group, looks scared, and that's what sets the other girls off. "Kelly, we shouldn't—" Suni gets cut off as Kelly's eyes flutter close. 

"What's your name?" She says to the wind, and the planchette moves to 'J' before moving to 'A'. 

Slowly but surely, the name 'JACLYN' is spelt out. 

"Jaclyn," Kelly repeats, and smiles. "Well, who is the vessel you're possessing now? Someone at this table?"

The girls know the rules. They can't pull away from the board until 'goodbye' is said from Kelly, and she doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. The planchette moves to 'YES'. 

_What the fuck,_ Lanai mouths.

Kelly's hands are shaking but her expression is completely calm. "And is this vessel's name Kelly?"

'YES'. 

"What is this?!" Melina explodes, glaring angrily at their friend. "Are you trying to scare us on purpose?!"

"I'm telling you a story," Kelly mocks her. "Ask the spirit what their name is." 

Melina growls under her breath and only briefly relaxes when Simone nods at her with a clenched jaw. "What's your name?" She asks quietly, and the planchette moves to 'K' and then 'E' and then—

Then—

Oh.

"Break the circle immediately," Chrissy orders. "Say goodbye."

"But what's the fun in that?" Kelly—or, whatever her name is now—grins. There's fear in her eyes, Chrissy realizes. She's been possessed the whole time. 

"SAY GOODBYE!" Suni yells, startling everyone. "GET THIS FUCKER OUT OF MY HOME!"

"Your fault for letting Kelly bring a goddamn Ouija board in here," the spirit throws Kelly's head back to laugh. "To let me, Jaclyn, enter your house without you even knowing?"

"How did you get into her head?" Lanai snarls. "She said she got the board from the Spirit store—"

"And she didn't mention that she already tried to communicate by herself," Jaclyn says smugly. "She broke a very important rule."

"And which rule is that?!" Simone asks, shaking next to Melina. "What did Kelly do?!"

"She asked when she would die," Jaclyn grins. "And I said 'NOW'."

"GOODBYE!" Chrissy screams at the board. All the girls join in, shrieking 'GOODBYE' to the laughter of Jaclyn. 

The planchette moves to 9. 

"You really can't get rid of me that easily," Jaclyn laughs again. Kelly's body jerks to the right.

The planchette moves to 8.

"We can't let go of the board," Simone sobs, doing her best to tug away. "We're stuck!" 

7.

"We haven't done anything wrong!" Suni yells. "Let us go!"

Jaclyn shrugs. "So? I kill for fun, my dear."

6.

"We can strike up a deal?" Lanai tries, and shuts her eyes when Kelly's arm gets broken by an invisible force.

5.

"It's already past Halloween," Melina sniffs, trying to wipe her eyes with her sleeve. "This is bullshit."

4.

"Stay together," Chrissy grits her teeth. "If we die, we have to drag her back with us."

3.

"It was nice knowing you guys," Simone whispers.

2.

Kelly's neck snaps.

1.

Darkness fully covers the room, and screams fade into silence.

* * *

Jaclyn stretches and sighs with relief as she looks down at her physical body. She's got Chrissy and Simone's hair mixed in, with Kelly's body and Melina's brain. Lanai and Suni have offered their organs and eyes. She's beautiful, she finally is!

Well. No matter now. She sidesteps the bodies littering the floor and sits down in front of the fireplace, eyes fluttering shut as the warmth lulls her to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ive never actually used a ouija board before
> 
> never thought I'd have to look up 'ouija board rules' in my life


	6. haunted houses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trying my best I swear!!! working on all my stuff :')

Craig Thompson is far too competitive for his own good.

Halloween week brings the arrival of haunted houses, and he wants his to be the best! Luckily for him, his street is the one chosen for the judging. He's had a plan that he's wanted to enact ever since he first thought of it a few months ago. 

His friends are so kind to him. They've all offered to help, and he thanks them relentlessly as he puts his haunted house into motion. It has to be PERFECT. 

Craig's house is set to be evaluated on October 31st itself. It's truly an honor and he eagerly counts down the days until then. He spends his entire time revamping his house; he makes sure the blood splatters are aimed correctly, the spiderwebs hang from the trees, and the ghouls that fly around have their strings hidden. 

His true masterpiece is inside. It's where he's enlisted his friends to help him out, and nothing is going to stop him from getting the first place price for the haunted houses.

* * *

Brian Hanby isn't quite sure what to expect as he walks towards Craig's house with a clipboard in his hand and his best friend Daithi de Nogla behind him. 

The two were (somehow) on student council and they were chosen to go and judge the haunted houses. Brian, who had a wicked sense of humor, wasn't really that scared at a lot of the homes around the neighborhood. 

(He ignores Nogla yelping in fear behind him at some kid skateboarding by with a Scream costume on and sighs to himself.)

"So," Brian says, stopping in front of an impressive front lawn that's coated in gravestones and cobwebs. He ducks on instinct as a ghoul shrieks over his head. "Craig Thompson."

"Can we go home?" Nogla whimpers at his side. "We've looked at enough houses, can't we just pick one and announce a winner?"

Brian covers his face with the clipboard. "Daithi, we have to do this fairly. Normally I'd agree and say we got lost or something, but this guy is crazy about Halloween. He'll throw a bitch fit if we leave."

Nogla groans loudly and just sighs. 

They walk around the lawn and Brian notes the nicely cut grass and how the setup looks good. "Alright, let's ring the doorbell."

Daithi, ever one for a good ding-dong ditch, rushes up, hits the doorbell, and tries to book it. Brian automatically grabs the back of his shirt and yanks him down. "Just this one house, idiot! Then we can go back to your house and have the movie marathon."

"You better keep your promise!" Nogla reprimands him before turning to look at the front door. 

It opens slowly but surely and suddenly, Craig Thompson himself appears. "Hello!" He greets them in a Bob Ross costume.

Nogla's jaw drops and Brian does his best not to laugh. "Hi, Craig. We're here from student council."

"Oh awesome!" The curly Bob Ross wig doesn't hide the splash of sky blue of Craig's hair, and he adjusts his glasses before moving on. "Welcome to my home! It's nice to meet you guys, and my main attraction is indoors."

"Are your parents cool with you decorating your entire house?" Nogla asks, looking around in surprise as they step inside. The hallways are long and chock full of terrifying horrors, screams and wails echoing out. 

Craig smiles. "Of course they are, they even volunteered to be in it! Okay, well, I asked them, and they at least said yes."

Maybe it's because Nogla's already getting scared, or maybe it's because Brian's taking a look at some realistic looking bones scattered around, but they don't notice Craig locking the front door. 

"Let me change into my proper costume and then we'll begin." Craig vanishes into the darkness and the other two exchange a glance. 

About two minutes go by and then a loudspeaker turns on. _"Welcome!"_ The British voice announces loudly. _"Please proceed forward, and try to make it through the night alive! If you don't make it through fast enough, we have our resident Jason ready to keep moving you forward!"_

A clink of chains behind them, and Brian turns to see a guy standing there with a bloody machete in his hands and a Jason Voorhees mask on. It's bloody around the edges and he seems to be shaking. 

He scribbles some details down and starts to walk through the hallway, letting Nogla grip his sleeve. The lighting isn't half-bad, the blood splatters on the wall seem nice, and then they reach the living room. 

It's an entire funhouse in there. Brian has to focus on certain points in the room, since everything overwhelms him for a moment. 

Next to him, he recognizes Tyler Wine yelling from behind a cage. Pig ears have been placed on top of his head and a tail sticks out of his behind. Hooves have been fitted onto his hands and a pig nose and muzzle on top of his actual one. Blood cakes his shirt and Brian nods thoughtfully, heading on.

Nogla steps closer and stares at Tyler, eyes wide as he realizes there's staples and stitches. They've been sewn on instead and _oh god_ it explains all the blood. 

"Brian?" Nogla whispers. 

The other Irishman stops in front of two people he also knows; Luke Patterson and Suni Meyers. Luke has devil horns and the tail along with the trident, and Suni has magnificent wings with extra eyes and limbs attached to her as they seem locked in a frozen battle. "Going for the traditional look I see, it's pretty good Craig."

There's a hum of approval from the loudspeaker and why is it only Nogla that notices the blood?? Why can't Brian see the staples, the agony in their eyes because they're not DEAD they're just in tremendous pain and they're all locked in this hellhouse without anyone helping them?

The Jason Voorhees guy shuffles into the room and Nogla dashes over, frantically trying to see if it's anyone he knows. It is; Jonathan's blue eyes are filled with tears, and Nogla lets out a gasp of shock at the bloodied mask. It's been stapled into his skin and his mouth has been stitched shut. 

"Brian?" Nogla says louder, stepping backwards as they come to a stop in the middle of the room. There's a curtain obscuring a figure on the wall; as the two Irishmen stare at it, Craig ducks into the room with red swirls painted on his cheeks and a suit on. The only thing that's throwing off the whole ensemble is his yellow flip-flops, but the crazed look in his eyes make up for it. 

"My main prize!" Craig practically purrs, gesturing to the curtain. It starts getting kicked from behind and Craig puts on a top hat. "He took SO LONG to create, but I'm very proud of the result!"

When the curtain gets thrown open, that's the exact moment that Brian realizes there's something wrong.

Evan Fong is hanging from the ceiling with an expression of absolute agony. There's hooks embedded in his chest to hoist him up, and feathers seem to be hot glued to his back to create beautiful but horrifying wings. A bird beak takes the place of his actual mouth with blood caked around the edges. Brian takes a step back with shock written all over his expression and manages to drop his clipboard.

"He did that to everyone else here too," Nogla croaks. "He's a monster!"

Craig frowns at that. "I'm a ringleader, please get that right. I spent a lot of time and effort into this."

"What about your parents!?" Daithi barks out, grabbing Brian's arm to tug him behind the taller boy. "You said they were okay with this!"

"They were, until they saw me with Tyler and realized what was going on." Craig shrugs. "I said they're in it, didn't I?"

A spotlight lands on two figures sitting in chairs, and Brian's eyes roll back into his head. Nogla shuts his eyes but the vision is burned into his head; Craig's parents, with pins and needles sticking out of them. Strings attached to their bodies are connected to Craig's fingers. "They're my puppets now, if that makes any sense? They tried stopping me, but I'm the ringleader." Craig wiggles his fingers and his mom's jaw cracks open.

Jonathan makes a muffled moan as he steps forward with his machete raised high. Craig grins. "Now you two have to become part of the main attraction! Just a simple operation for both of you shouldn't take too long."

Both boys are deadly silent, and maybe that's why Brian escapes after an hour. 

He runs, blood pouring from his left eye, the cold and shock of metal pressing against his head as he wails and screams. Halloween night, people assume it's a wonderfully made costume, until one adult takes a closer look. 

In the hospital, he can only stare off into the distance as the police ask him questions. How can he tell them of the house of horrors, of how Craig ripped out his eye and replaced it with a cybernetic one? How Nogla was patient in his timing and even when his mouth was getting ripped apart, he still managed to take Jonathan's machete (that was willingly handed to him) and get Craig's side?

How his best friend sacrificed himself for Brian. 

The tears burn his face and his new eye and he knows that he will never be human again.

**Author's Note:**

> spook


End file.
